Darren Star

When the series he created, "Beverly Hills, 90210" premiered on Fox in 1990 and launched his career, Darren Star was credited by some with energizing the network and with reviving the Spelling TV empi...
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British singer-turned-soap actress Suzanne Shaw is expecting a child with her businessman fiance Sam Greenfield. The former Hear'Say star made the announcement on Twitter.com on Wednesday (04Mar15) by posting a video in which she hands her partner a positive pregnancy test and reveals they are having a baby.
The footage also shows the couple breaking the news to Shaw's 10-year-old son Corey, from her previous relationship with entertainer Darren Day.
Shaw says of the video, "I wanted to make the big reveal extra special for both Sam and Corey so I decided to video the occasion. We're all over the moon and can't wait to meet him or her when they arrive in October."
The couple's engagement was announced last year (14). Shaw was previously married to radio DJ Jason King, but they separated in 2012.

Glee star Darren Criss has become the first of the show's cast members to write original songs for the series. Criss, who portrays Blaine Anderson on the show, has penned a track titled This Time, which will be performed by Lea Michele's character Rachel Berry during Glee's two-hour series finale on 20 March (15).
Another Criss tune, Rise, will also be featured on the show's 6 March (15) episode, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Glee's sixth and final season wrapped filming in late February (15).

Glee's Darren Criss is set to become the latest star to don drag as the new lead actor of hit Broadway musical Hedwig And The Angry Itch. The actor/singer will head back to the New York stage on 29 April (15) to take over the role of the cross-dressing German rocker from co-creator John Cameron Mitchell.
He will follow in the footsteps of Neil Patrick Harris and Dexter's Michael C. Hall, who have both tackled the titular character on Broadway in the past year.
Criss made his Broadway debut in 2012, when he stepped into Daniel Radcliffe's part as J. Pierrepont Finch in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.

Iranian movie Taxi took the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival in Germany over the weekend (13-15Feb15). Taxi, directed by and starring Jafar Panahi, was awarded the ceremony's most prestigious prize, the Golden Bear for Best Picture, as well as the International Federation of Film Critics award (FIPRESC). It is Panahi's third film since he was banned from moviemaking in 2010 for suspected propaganda against the Iranian government, but he was unable to attend the festival so his niece collected the accolade on his behalf.
The movie features Panahi driving a cab through Iranian capital Tehran and sharing his thoughts on the city.
President of the jury, director Darren Aronofsky, said of Panahi's film, "Limitations often inspire filmmakers to storytellers to make better work, but sometimes those limitations can be so suffocating they destroy a project and often damage the soul of the artist. Instead of allowing his spirit to be crushed and giving up, instead of allowing himself to be filled with anger and frustration, Jafar Panahi created a love letter to cinema. His film is filled with love for his art, his community, his country and his audience."
Chilean film The Club won the Silver Bear grand jury prize, Charlotte Rampling was named Best Actress for her role in British drama 45 Years, and her co-star Tom Courtenay won Best Actor. The Silver Bear award for Best Director was shared by Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude, for Aferim!, and Małgorzata Szumowska, for Polish drama Body.

Singers Cilla Black and Peter Andre, stage star Darren Day and British actress Jessie Wallace are the latest stars to accept "substantial damages" over the U.K.'s phone-hacking scandal. The four were among dozens of celebrities who took legal action against Rupert Murdoch's News International after it emerged his News of the World tabloid had employed a private investigator to access cell phone voicemail messages in the pursuit of stories.
Their case came before London's High Court on Thursday (22Jan15), and judges were told Black, Andre, Day and Wallace have all accepted substantial damages as a settlement.
The News of the World was closed in 2011 amid the phone-hacking furore and several former members of staff, including ex-editor Andy Coulson, were later jailed over the scandal.

Stuntman and actor Darren Shahlavi has died, aged 42. The Mortal Kombat: Legacy star was found dead at his home in Los Angeles on 14 January (15).
Shahlavi began his career as a stuntman in Hong Kong.
County Coroner officials are conducting toxicology tests before determining the exact cause of death, but sources tell TMZ.com his passing may be drug related.

After over 600 performances, the cast of Glee is getting ready to sing their final song. With the sixth and last season premiering, we're counting down the best musical numbers that the members of New Directions have done over the years.
15. "This Is the New Year" - New Directions
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This song is just pure joy.
14. "The Scientist" - Rachel, Finn, Kurt, Blaine, Santana, Brittany, Will and Emma
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All four of the show's main couples breaking up at the same time was a bit too much for us to take.
13. "All You Need Is Love" - Blaine
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Blaine really went all out for his proposal to Kurt.
12. "We Are Young" - New Directions
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Glee covered this song before it became overplayed.
11. "Rumour Has It/Someone Like You" - Mercedes, Santana and Brittany
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It's hard to take on Adele, but this mash-up is flawless.
10. "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" - New Directions
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This perfomance helped the New Directions finally win the national title - and well deserved.
9. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" - Kurt
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Kurt singing about his hospitalized father made us teary.
8. "River Deep - Mountain High" - Santana and Mercedes
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Why haven't these two had more duets?!
7. Journey Medley - New Directions
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Journey is old school, but they have some great songs.
6. "Keep Holding On" - New Directions
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Sorry Avril Lavigne, but the Glee version of your song is better.
5. "Make You Feel My Love" - Rachel
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Knowing that Lea Michele chose to sing this in honor of her late boyfriend Cory Monteith makes it all the more heartbreaking.
4. "Teenage Dream" - Blaine/The Warblers
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The moment we all fell in love with Darren Criss.
3. "Somebody to Love" - New Directions
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Mercedes hitting that big note at the end gives us chills every time.
2. "Don't Rain on My Parade" - Rachel
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A show-stopping number in which Rachel blows everyone away with her star power.
1. "Don't Stop Believin'" - New Directions
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The classic, quintessential Glee song - hopeful, happy and it makes you want to sing along.
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Actress Gina Gershon is to play Pam Anderson on Glee. The Bound star will portray the mother of Darren Criss' character Blaine on the TV musical drama. Pam Anderson is her character's name. Comedienne Jennifer Coolidge and Community star Ken Jeong were also recently cast as the parents to Heather Morris' character Brittany S. Pierce. They join fellow stars Idina Menzel, who is mum to Lea Michele's Rachel Berry and Gloria Estefan as Santana Lopez's mother Maribel.

Ansel Elgort and Natalie Dormer landed acting prizes at the 2014 New Now Next Awards on Tuesday (02Dec14). The Fault in Our Stars actor saw off competition from Miles Teller, Dylan O'Brien and Chris Pratt to be named Best New Lead Film Actor at the ceremony, while Games of Thrones actress Dormer won the female prize for her role in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I.
The movie Dear White People was named Best Motion Picture By a New Filmmaker while Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn picked up the Best New Screenwriter prize for adapting her novel for the big screen.
Also at the public-voted awards, which celebrate up-and-coming talent, British singer Sam Smith won the Best New Musician (Male) prize while Australian singer/songwriter Betty Who picked up the female counterpart.
Former Glee star Jonathan Groff landed the Best New Television Actor for his role in sitcom Looking, which was also named Best New Television Series. Orange is the New Black's Lorraine Toussaint won the TV actress award.
In theatre, there were prizes for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and actress Sophie Okonedo, who won a trophy for her role in the play A Raisin in The Sun.
The ceremony, hosted by Glee's Darren Criss, will air in the U.S. on Sunday (07Dec14).

Actor Guy Pearce is set to hit the stage with Powderfinger star Darren Middleton as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival in Australia in February (15). The Memento star's new album Broken Bones has just been released.

Title

Executive produced the short-lived ABC series, "Cashmere Mafia"; competed indirectly with NBC's "Lipstick Jungle," created by Star's former creative partner from "Sex and the City" Candace Bushnell

Produced (also wrote and directed episodes) the hit HBO series, "Sex and the City"; show inspired by Candice Bushnell's New York Observer articles and book of the eame name

Produced the FOX series, "Kitchen Confidential"; based on the non-fiction book by Anthony Bourdain

Wrote the Richard Grieco action-comedy, "If Looks Could Kill"

Created the FOX drama series, "Beverly Hills, 90210"; also penned several episodes and executive produced until 1995

First produced screenplay, the sci-fi comedy "Doin' Time on Planet Earth"

Created the NBC series "Miss Match" starring Alicia Silverstone as a lawyer/high-end matchmaker

Executive produced the film version of his HBO series, "Sex and the City: The Movie"

Created the "90210" spinoff series, "Melrose Place" (FOX); also produced and scripted episodes from 1992-1995

Created (also wrote and produced) the short-lived series, "Central Park West" (CBS)

Scripted the pilot for animated series based on the film "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure"

Summary

When the series he created, "Beverly Hills, 90210" premiered on Fox in 1990 and launched his career, Darren Star was credited by some with energizing the network and with reviving the Spelling TV empire. Prior to "90210", Star's entire writing output had amounted to an unproduced "Charles in Charge" spec script and two features, "Doing Time on Planet Earth" (1988), a failed comedy about a teenager convinced he must be from another planet, and "If Looks Could Kill" (1991), a teenage spy spoof that was supposed to turn Richard Grieco into a film star but didn't.

Name

Role

Comments

Dennis Erdman

Companion

Together since c. 1996

Marc Star

Brother

Worked as a production assistant on "Melrose Place" (FOX)

Bonnie Star

Sister

Owns a Los Angeles agency

Education

Name

University of California, Los Angeles

University of Southern California

Winston Churchill High School

Notes

Darren Star on "Beverly Hills, 90210" (FOX): "They [executives] asked me if I was interested in doing a show about high school. I had never worked in television before but thought it would be interesting. I realized no one has done a show for high school that took kids on their own terms, that looked at lives from their persepctive rather than through adult eyes." - from the Hollywood Reporter, March 2, 1994

"I don't think I've stumbled into a formula for a hit show. If I knew why the shows were so popular, I don't think I would have any insecurity about what I'm going to do for the future. Sometimes I stand back and it does sort of fascinate me. I mean, why are these shows popular?" - Darren Star quoted in Vanity Fair magazine, May 1995

"I was desperate to be a writer of anything. I just wanted to be a writer and get paid." - Darren Star in Vanity Fair magazine, May 1995

"Darren has the need to see his name in print." - a former colleague, quoted anonymously in Vanity Fair magazine, May 1995

"I think when '90210' became a hit, it was great; when 'Melrose Place' became a hit, it was great. I've sort of had my nose to the grindstone with these shows - executive producing 32 hours a year doesn't leave you much time to take stock, which is probably for the best. If you're running a marathon, you don't want to stop and take a breather, because you may not keep going." - Darren Star quoted in the Daily News, May 31, 1995

According to Soap Opera Digest (September 1995), Star asked for a subscription to Variety when he was 12 years old. The magazine quoted Star's mother, as saying "I think he used his bar mitzvah money to pay for that."